And when Deputy Oliver went to check to see how far gone she was, he realised the little boy’s head was visible and caught him as he was born.

Anthony McCartney, reporter with the Associated Press, who was there at the time said: 'It was all over in about five minutes. She gave birth in the hallway, pretty much unassisted."

The officers even went to the effort of giving the mum some privacy by putting cardboard boxes around her while little Malachi was being born.

And while the youngster's dad missed out on the birth of his son, he took it in his stride, jokingly saying: "I do want to thank them for stepping in and stealing my shine. No. Thank you. I'm glad he's here. He's healthy. We're happy. Everything's good."

The Special Enforcement Bureau at Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department tweeted the following picture:

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